Top 12 desert escapes

Pages

For design enthusiasts: Palm Springs, CA

This town is the capital of midcentury mod style, and the Sunnylands Center & Gardens (pictured) is a mega-shrine to modernism. The former winter home of publisher and diplomat Walter Annenberg and his wife, Leonore, is an architectural vision, with the bonus of a powerhouse art collection, including works by Rodin and Giacometti. Garden and gallery free, house tour $35;sunnylands.org

Best time to go: June, for fewer crowds and killer deals—if you can take the heat.

Stay: The recently renovated Saguaro, complete with large pool and mountain vistas, adds a contemporary pop of color inspired by desert wildflowers. From $105;thesaguaro.com

What's New

from our partners

Insider Guides

Built into the hillside overlooking Paradise Valley and Camelback Mountain, the 53-acre resort is that special type of Southwest hotel: cushy and super luxe on one hand, but with “a spiritual, almost Zen-like” feel on the other.more